Garry Shandling's doctor is refusing to sign his death certificate. (Photo by Rob Latour/Invision/AP, File)

(Newser)
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Legendary comedian Garry Shandling died Thursday morning, but his doctor has "repeatedly refused" to sign his death certificate, prompting an investigation by the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office, TMZ reports. The doctor hadn't seen Shandling in more than a year, believed him to be healthy, and can't figure out why he died. According to the New York Daily News, sources say Shandling died of a heart attack after experiencing aches and shortness of breath on Wednesday. “It’s a shock,” one source says. “He seemed pretty healthy, took care of himself. There were no known heart issues at all in his history.” The coroner's office will now have to determine Shandling's cause of death. It has subpoenaed his medical records and taken blood samples from the emergency room where the comedian was pronounced dead.

I thought, unless you were under the care of a doc for cancer or such, there is always an autopsy???? Why would they be asking the doc to just sign off on it? Odd....but then, it is Cali....

Harrystc

Mar 27, 2016 9:50 PM CDT

As you might imagine everything is different in LA, even death (of celebrities). There can be a private autopsy, or the government one. An autopsy does not determine cause of death. The coroner's jury does that function and it can be a contentious hearing. The unanswered question will be for weeks to come: what did the toxicology report say was in his body? Recall Robin Williams anyone?

milepost

Mar 27, 2016 4:22 PM CDT

if he was pronounced dead in the emergency room, why doesn't the emergency doc sign the certificate?